Mars Incorporated's M&M's have received a lot of press buzz over the last year for some really silly reasons.
Barely over a year ago, the "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" candy announced that it would be updating its signature spokescandies to better reflect the modern era. The characters, known then as Mr. Red, Mrs. Green, etc., were dropping their gendered honorifics and just going by their colors.
Another part of this modernization were some adjustments made to the two female M&Ms, Green and Brown. Brown got some lower high heels and Green got sneakers. Green also got some new, much less provocative poses.
After the announcement rolled out, right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson pinpointed Green's de-sexualization as an outrageously "woke" move. Responses to Carlson's obsession with the candy makeover took over the internet -- and suddenly everyone was talking about M&M's.
Mars Wrigley has since enjoyed the attention that comes along when a certain corner of the internet starts clutching its pearls about gendered candy. Last September, the M&M's spokescandy lineup welcomed a new member -- Purple. This M&M wearing lace-up combat boots has "keen self-awareness, authenticity and confidence,"said Mars Wrigley in a statement, and she's "designed to represent acceptance and inclusivity." While Purple isn't a member of the actual in-the-bag M&M colors, Mars Wrigley did release an all-lady lineup of special edition M&Ms.
Mars and M&M's have clearly been leaning into the media attention from this conversation, which makes today's announcement a little strange.
M&Ms/Getty Images
Mars is Replacing the M&M's Characters
According to a statement on Twitter, the M&M's spokescandies will be on an "indefinite pause" thanks to the conservative backlash against last year's character changes.
“We’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren’t sure if anyone would even notices. And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet," read the statement.
"But now we get it -- even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing. Which was the last thing M&M’s wanted since we’re all about bringing people together.” The post goes on to say that the brand's new representative will be someone "America can agree on"--actress and comedian Maya Rudolph.
The M&M's Announcement May Not Be What It Seems
There are a few reasons to suspect that this announcement isn't what it appears to be. For one, the WWII candy brand has seen a lot of positive press ever since this tomfoolery began. Surely this decision would have been made before the rollout of Purple.
Many online have speculated that the timing of this announcement is the missing piece of this mystery puzzle. With flurries of news about Super Bowl ad spots starting to crop up, some believe that the announcement is just a ruse meant to build hype surrounding an upcoming commercial.
Some have even compared it to the strange marketing move made by Hormel Foods (HRL) brand Planter's in early 2020. In a commercial for the famous snack nuts, the brand's monocled mascot Mr. Peanut fell victim to a tragic death. The ad-spot featured the cane wielding cartoon peanut sacrificing himself after a car accident to save the lives of actors Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh.
The move received plenty of press attention and encouraged fans to tune in to the brand's Super Bowl spot, which would feature the character's funeral service and --surprise! -- a brand new "Baby Nut" mascot.
